Asymmetrical generator rotor



y 25, 1954 L. A. KILGORE ASYMMETRICAL GENERATOR ROTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 26, 1952 Fig. l.

INVENTOR Lee A. Kilgore;

WITNESSESz 94; K/

ATTORNEY y 5 1954 1.. A. KILGORE ASYMMETRICAL GENERATOR ROTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26. 1952 *INVENTOR Lee A. Kilgore. BY

ATTORNEY Patented May 25, 1954 ASYMMETRICAL GENERATOR ROTOR Lee A. Kiigore, Export, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 26, 1952, Serial No. 301,031

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to means for improving the performance of turbine generators, and it has particular relation to an asymmetric disposition of the rotor-slots of such machines. Turbine generators are large high-speed synchronous machines, usually having two poles, sometimes four poles. The rotor member is invariably the field member, and it invariably has a solid cylindrical rotor-core having winding-receiving slots for receiving the coil-sides of a plurality of concentric-type coils spanning the pole-centers of the respective poles.

There is a difficulty, in connection with such machines, which has not heretofore been discovered because of the methods which are in common use for analyzing or predetermining the generator performance. The computation-difficulties which confront the design-engineer, in connection with such machines, are quite formidable, usually requiring empirical designmethods, usually involving the Potier reactance, which is a synchronous-machine quantity, de-' termined from the no-load saturation-curve and an over-excited condition at zero power factor. This is useful in the calculation of the excitation of the machine at other loads and power factors.

I have discovered, however, that if we study the full-load field-form, taking into consideration the saturation of the rotor-teeth, we find a sharp dissymmetry in the field-flux form, in which there appears a sharp discontinuity due to the saturation of the rotor-teeth which trail or follow the center-line of the pole during the rotation of the rotor member, as a result of the armature reaction of the generator. cially pronounced in certain modern machines in which wider rotor-slots are needed, in order to accommodate aluminum windings, rather than copper windings, or to accommodate innercooling ducts in the rotor-slots or hollow motor conductors.

This saturation of the rotor-teeth next to the pole center, on one side of said pole center, not only results in a loss of the useful or airgap flux, but it also results in extra pulsation-losses in the stator-teeth, and extra resistance-losses or heating in the stator-conductors, caused by crossslot flux which fringes across the stator-slots, thus increasing the statorwinding temperature and reducing the permissible stator-winding rating.

These effects are greatly minimized, in my present invention, by widening a few of the rotorslots next to the pole-center, as will be subse- This effect is espequently explained, with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional endview of a synchronous generator embodying my invention, and

Figs. 2 and 3 are field-form diagrams showing the difference between the old symmetrical rotor-construction and my new asymmetrical construction.

In Fig. 1, I show only a fragment of a twopole synchronous generator, or other dynamoelectric machine, comprising a stationary armature-member 5 having an annular stator-core 6 and alternating-current armature-winding l which is carried in slots 8 in the stator-core. The machine has a rotating field-member H], which is separated from the stator-core 6 by an airgap I I. The field-member [0 comprises a cylindrical rotor-core I2, and a distributed direct-current field-winding l3 which is carried by a plurality of winding-receiving rotor-slots I4 in the rotorcore l2. These rotor-slots M are separated by rotor-teeth l5, and they are disposed on each side of the center-line [B of each rotor-pole, leaving each rotor-pole with a pole-center region I! having no winding-receiving slots. The fieldwinding l3 for each rotor-pole comprises a plurality of concentric-type coils 2! to 21 which span the pole-center and have soil-sides lying within the respective rotor-slots.

In accordance with my invention, I make the rotor slot-and-tooth arrangement asymmetric, on the side of each pole which follows the centerline 16 during the rotation of the rotor-core, when the machine is operating as a generator. This asymmetry consists of moving-in several of the winding-receiving rotor-slots M, on this side of the center-line of the pole, thus resulting in a widening of several of the rotor-teeth [5, or a wider tooth-span of a plurality of rotor-teeth closest to said center-line, as indicated at 3|, 32 and 33. In this way, the coil-pitches (or the spans between the two coil-sides) of the innermost coils, such as the coils 2|, 22 and 23 (usually amounting to not more than half of the total number of coils per pole), are shortened and displaced relative to the center-line 16 of the remaining coils (such as the coils 24 to 21), of that pole.

The operational effect of my invention will best be understood by a comparison of the diagrams which comprise Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 shows the distortion of the full-load field-form, with the usual symmetrical rotor-slot arrangement. The no-load field-magnetomotive force is indicated at 40, and the full-field magnetomotive force is indicated at 4|. The full-load armature-magnetomotive force, representing the armature reaction, is indicated at 42, this magnetomotive force being reversed, so as to get it on the diagram conveniently, it being understood that this .armature-magnetomotive force opposes the field-magnetomotive force in the leading half of the pole-field. The resultant effective or total full-load full-field magnetomotive force is indicated at 43, from which it will be seen that the flux-densityintthe trailing rotor-teeth I5 is much higher than on the leading side of the center-line [6 0i thejpole. This causes a tooth-saturation which produces an airgap flux 44 having therein a sharp dip 4'5 which not only reduces the totalairgap fluxcof the pole, but also produces undesirable statorlosses as has previously been described.

Fig. 3 shows the effect of my invention, in widening-some of the rotor teeth, as indicated at 3|, 32 and 33, on the trailing. side'of thez'rotorpole center [-6. 'The'various "curves inFig. 3 are giventhe same numbers; with primes'added to the corresponding curve-numberings inFig. 2. "It-will readily be seenthat'the effect-circtor-tooth saturation is reduced, in Fig. 3, because of-the greater width or tooth-spans oi-the widened rotor-teeth, thus resulting in an-airgap flux 44 which has a 'much smaller dip :45, 1

which is much less sudden-in its flux-changing effect.

The tooth-width' whichis commonly used, in calculating tooth-saturation is the tooth-width at the point one-third or the way up from the base of the tooth,as indicatedxat 46 in Fig. 1. In a typical machine, with .a maximum fundamental flux-density of about 160,000 lines of force per square'inch at the rotor surfacepthe tooth-width .46vata1point one thirdoffthe way up from the baseof thetoothxshould beabout 40% of the slot-pitch'at the -surface, thus :giving a tooth-flux'densityof150,000ilinesof force, which is about all'that canbe carried without excessive saturation.

To have used-asymmetrical construction, at the'same time making the first three teeth-on both sides of thepole-center lftwidei-enoughto avoid excessivev saturation, would have reduced the width of the unslotted.pole-centerregion IT by several inches, in a typicalmachine, thus .thus obtaining a good field-form 44 under full load, as indicated in Fig. 3, without serious loss .of the "fundamental flux, and without serious extra stator-losses due to a sharp break in the field-form,- as'initiated at in Fig. 2.

'While I have illustrated my invention in only one exemplary form of embodiment, I wish it to be:understood, :of course, that I am not limited to the precise structural details and dimensions 'which have been .illustrated.

I claim as my invention:

rA Isynchronous dynamo-electric machine comprising astationary armature member having 'anuannularstator-core and an alternatingcurrent armaturewinding carried by said stator-core, and :a'rotating field-member havinga cylindrical-rotor-core and a distributed directcurrent field-winding carried by said rotorcore, said rotor-core-having' a-plurality of winding-carrying rotor-slots, separated by rotorteeth, .disposedpn each sideof the center-line of each rotor-pole, leaving each'rotor-pole-with a pole-center region having no windingereceiving slots, the field-windingfor each rotor-pole comprising a plurality of '.-concentric-type 160118 spanning the pole-center and having coil-sides lying-within the-respective rotor-slots, characterized by the rotor slot-and-tooth arrangement-being asymmetric on the sideof each pole which follows the center-line when the mea chine is operating as a generator, saidasymmetry consisting of a tooth span .ofa plurality ofrotor-teeth closest-to said center-line onsaid following side wider than the tooth-span of a plurality ofthe rotor-teeth nearest the centerline-on the leading side thereof, whereby the coil-pitches of the zinnermost coils 'are short ened and displaced relative to the center-line of the remaining coils of that pole.

:No references cited. 

